Finding Leo
by WriterofNovels
Summary: Many, many years after the war, the six remaining half-bloods now lead happy lives with their children. Suddenly, while at camp, a clue as to where Leo has disappeared surfaces. Even Nico once agreed there was something strange about his death. Could Leo still be alive? The six demigods try to find out - though it may seem their kids have better luck.
1. Back at Camp

**Hello everyone! This is the second time I'm attempting to write this story. Sorry, but I just can't ever finish a story. I'm gonna try real hard this time around. I hope you like it and I'm super sorry if it sucks. My writing isn't too good right now...By the way, I do** ** _not_** **own Heroes of Olympus that belongs entirely to the fabulous Rick Riordan.**

* * *

Chapter One

 _Bam!_

Cerulean slammed her suitcase shut. A pants leg was sticking out of the side. Too lazy to open the suitcase again, she tried to poke it in with her finger. It wouldn't budge. Annoyed, she flopped onto her messy bed, sweaters and books were strewn over it.

Okay, so she did have dyslexia and reading frustrated her. But she still _tried._

Something sharp poked her back. She rolled onto her stomach and reached into the blanket. After groping around for a few seconds, she pulled out a picture frame. The glass was cracked and a large piece was missing. But what made Cerulean stop in her tracks was the photograph inside.

Six half-bloods stood with their arms draped over each other's shoulders. They were all laughing though their arms were covered in slashes and their shirts were stained with blood. One day after studying the picture, Cerulean realized that though they wore smiles, their eyes held sadness. She had always asked her father about this picture but he never responded. When her mother heard the questions, her lips drew into a fine line and she heaved the laundry basket downstairs. Cerulean decided not to ask them again.

The door flew open. "Cerulean, we're leaving!" A boy with unruly black hair barged into the room. "Hurry up!" He dragged her suitcase into the hallway. Cerulean carefully set down the picture and pursed her lips.

"Thank you, Luke," she said, "but I think I can handle carrying my own suitcase." She got up from the bed and strode into the hallway, snatching her suitcase from her brother's hands.

The two siblings raced down the stairs, both excited to be going back to camp. Cerulean laced up her turquoise Converse sneakers and pulled on a gray hoodie. Luke grabbed a neon green backpack and headed out the door, Cerulean following.

"I thought I told you to hurry up!" A Honda Odyssey stood outside, the windows rolled down. A woman peered out of it. "Get in. Your father wants to be there by three."

Both Cerulean and Luke climbed into the car. Immediately, the requests began to pile up.

"Mom, can I get a water bottle?"

"Just one more M&M? I know I haven't had lunch yet, but I'm starving."

"Where are the baby wipes?"

Annabeth turned around. Though her eyes were a steely gray, they lit up with amusement. "Already in the car for not more than a minute and you guys are making a mess back there? To answer your questions, yes Cerulean, you may have a water bottle. Luke – I said no M&Ms so early in the morning and the baby wipes are under my seat."

"Let him have a few candies," Percy said, grinning in the rearview mirror. "It'll keep him from whining the whole ride to the airport."

"I don't whine!" Luke whined. "Right, mom?"

"Drive, Percy," Annabeth said placidly, a smile playing on her lips. "You did say you wanted to get there by three."

* * *

"Finally!" Luke jumped out of the taxi, stretching his legs. He dropped an empty bag of M&Ms onto the floor. "We're here."

"Hey!" Cerulean said as she spotted the litter. "Pick that up before mom sees you!"

Rolling his eyes, Luke bent over to pick up the trash.

They stood in front of what appeared to be strawberry picking fields, with lush green grass and a dusty dirt road leading to the entrance. To any normal person, the words on the archway standing over the road looked like gibberish. To the Jackson family, it read: _Camp Half-Blood._ The sky overhead was so spectacular it made the whole scene look as if it were from a fairytale. Cerulean reached for her camera in her backpack, but it wasn't there.

"Mom! I think I left my camera in New Rome!" she said, frantically waving her arms around. Annabeth was distracted, talking to a pretty woman with white feathers in her hair and a smaller woman with chocolate brown skin and hazel eyes. "Oh, hi Piper, hi Hazel," Cerulean said politely, though she wasn't in the mood to talk. She _needed_ to find her camera. And _then_ she would talk to her friends.

Piper and Hazel peered around Annabeth to find the source of the voice that spoke to them. Piper's eyes widened. "Cerulean! Hi! We were actually waiting for you. You see you left your camera in Skye's room last time you came over, and – "

"My camera?" she interjected. "Skye has it?"

"Yep, she's in cabin ten with – "

"Thanks, gotta go, bye!" She ran off in the direction of the cabins, dirt picking up at her feet. As she ran she heard Piper say, "That girl is too energetic for her own good."

She threw the cabin door open and sat on an empty bed. "Skye, Rain? Are you guys here?"

"Yeah, we're in the back," said a lilting voice.

Cerulean stood up and threw her hoodie onto a chair. "Guys –" She coughed, inhaling a mouthful of perfume. "What are you two doing?"

"Just smelling this really weird fragrance I found in someone's drawer. It sucks right?" Cerulean looked down to see a pale girl with dark hair holding up a bottle and sitting on the ground crisscross applesauce. Her twin sat next to her. They both had feathers braided into their hair, but purple instead of the white that their mother wore.

Cerulean raised an eyebrow. "So just snooping through someone's drawer?"

Skye blushed crimson. She shook her head. "It isn't really snooping if the drawer is open."

"She was snooping," Rain said as she sketched a demigod in war wearing a quite fashionable breastplate. "The drawer was only partly open. But in this cabin as long as you don't use all the makeup, no one really cares." She looked up at the ceiling, apparently lost in thought, then turned back to her sketchpad.

After a beat, Cerulean turned back to Skye, who was sniffing her own wrist, perhaps hoping to compare perfume. "So, you have my camera?"

Skye looked up. "Oh yeah, it's in my bag on the bunk." She pointed to a white tote.

"Thanks," Cerulean said, reaching into the bag. She emerged victorious, holding her Nikon D5200. "Got it!"

Skye's phone beeped. She tilted it up towards her face. "Rain…" she said slowly, "Dad wants us outside cabin one. If you want to come, Cerulean, you're welcome to." She stood up and held the door open.

At cabin one, Jason stood leaning against a column. "Girls!" he said. "And Cerulean! Girls, I need your help…It seems I've made a mess of this and your brother won't help me fix it." He held up a photo album with pictures falling out, some ripped and torn.

"Why won't mom help you out?" Rain asked.

"Mom can't know," Jason said quickly.

"Agreed," Skye nodded. "Last time you messed up the photo album mom flipped out. Those are our only baby pictures since you accidentally deleted the camera's memory."

Cerulean gave them a thumb up. "While you guys do that I'll just sit by that tree and play with the water."

Jason frowned. "Careful. Thomas is over there and he's in one of his moods."

"It's fine," Cerulean muttered as she walked over to the tree.

Thomas was the older brother of Skye and Rain. He was alike his father in looks, but not so much in personality. His only friend was Eric, son of Frank and Hazel. While Jason's idea of a great day was spending time with his family, Thomas preferred to lock himself in his room. He often got mood swings that caused him to yell at every person he interacted with. So it was with caution that Cerulean approached him.

"Hi, Thomas!" Cerulean said brightly.

Maybe he could sense how nervous she was approaching him. Or maybe he really was in a bad mood. Either way, he rolled his eyes and muttered a quiet hello.

"Er – is this a bad time?"

He rubbed his eyes and cupped his chin in his hand. "No," he said finally. "Just tired."

"Okay." She smoothed down the grass, sat down, and faced the lake.

Unlike her brother, Cerulean had inherited her father's control over water. Luke was more of a math whiz and dabbled in science in his spare time. He was already smarter than her though he was two years younger.

Cerulean pointed at the water, and several droplets spun towards her. She entertained herself for a while, forming and reforming the water into different shapes. _I am playing with the water_ , she thought, _in a fashion._

"Aren't her water powers cool, Thomas?"

Cerulean whipped around to see Skye, looking at Thomas, who was looking at her. He blushed and turned bright red. Had Thomas been watching her while she was controlling the water? Cerulean suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Uh, sure," Thomas said turning around and staring at his feet.

There was an awkward pause before Skye said, "Um, I just came to tell you Cerulean…we're done. So if you want we can go play volleyball or something."

It was a beautiful day – perfect for volleyball. Cerulean nodded. "Yeah, okay. Volleyball would be great."

* * *

 **And there you have it. How was it? Terrible, I know. You wouldn't mind reviewing? So I can see how I did. And I made a sort of age chart so you can see how old everyone is.**

 **Percy and Annabeth's Children:**

 **Cerulean- 13  
Luke- 11**

 **Jason and Piper's Children:**

 **Skye and Rain- 13  
Thomas- 15**

 **Frank and Hazel's Children:**

 **Ruby- 8  
Eric- 14**

 **And if you feel up to it...keep reading for the next chapter! Some serious biz is gonna do down at this camp...**


	2. Dreaming of Leo

**Whoop whoop! Finally got the second chapter done! I would have uploaded sooner, but I was on vacation and my dad stole my laptop. I was super excited to write and upload this chapter cause it's from Luke's point of view. He's really intelligent and a little weird. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter Two

Luke sat on his bunk reading a book. He didn't just like reading – he _loved_ it. It was one of the few things he could do without his sister. Other than math. And science. And anything else to do with intellect. Not that Cerulean was stupid. She just didn't prefer to participate in those kinds of activities. Luke didn't mind. While she played volleyball with the girls, he – Luke, read about quantum physics.

He had just started reading the _Wave-Particle Duality_ chapter when he heard someone call his name.

"Luke! Get out here you big idiot!"

Luke pulled back a curtain. Miguel Rodriguez, son of Chris Rodriguez and Clarisse La Rue, stood outside his window. Miguel was tougher than most of Luke's friends, being a grandchild of Ares and all, but Miguel protected him. Luke took after his mother, Annabeth – though he didn't end up with her athletic prowess. When there were bullies around, Luke used Miguel as a shield.

Hey, it's not like they weren't friends. They were – the whole protection thing was just an added bonus.

Smiling, Luke jumped down from his bunk (banging his knee of course) and tossed his book onto a pile of…well…other books. He threw the door open and raced outside (but not before tripping over the tiniest pebble in existence.) "Hey, Miguel! When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Miguel sighed. "Mom _insisted_ on showing me her old spear collection or something. It was interesting and all, but I'd rather hang out with you."

They raced each other to the sword fighting arena. The wind blew in their faces. Luke spit a few strands of hair out of his mouth and kept on running. He had never felt freer.

Another reason why Miguel was his friend: he didn't judge Luke for how terrible he was at sports. So when Luke ran with his arms outstretched as if he were catching the wind, Miguel didn't laugh.

Suddenly their feet hit dirt and sand. Luke collapsed on the ground, covered in sweat. "We're here," he panted.

Miguel sat down next to him. "So what d'you wanna do now?" he asked as he traced shapes into the ground.

"Dunno," Luke said. "Whatever you want, I guess." He sat up and wrapped his arms around his bent knees. "We could swordfight." He mentally kicked himself for offering that. Him _sword fighting_? That was a death wish.

"Nah." Miguel flicked away a piece of rock. "I was wondering if you could tell me what my dream meant."

"Dream?"

Hesitating, Miguel launched into his story. "I dreamt I was in some small town in Europe, I think. It was really beautiful. There were mountains and this huge…lake? Part of an ocean? I'm not sure. But there were houses right at the water's edge, and there were tons of boats."

Luke narrowed his eyebrows. "Sounds like a fishing village," he mused. "You said in Europe?" When Miguel nodded he said, "It could be in Italy. There are quite a few fishing villages in Italy."

"But that's not all. There was this man and woman. The man was Latino, I think, and looked really familiar, but the woman didn't. I definitely haven't seen her before. Anyway, the man said 'Told you I could kill those monsters. Team Leo, baby!' The woman made a face and she said, 'There is still much to do before we have enough to find your friends.' The guy got kind of angry and said, 'I'd do anything to find them. I'd kill any monster.' Then I woke up."

All was silent. Even the wind had stopped blowing. Something was going to happen, and it would be centered around Miguel's dream. Luke just knew it. He wanted to tell Miguel that he would figure it out, but he wasn't sure where to begin. The clues were just so vague. How would Luke find out what village those people were in? Or the man and the woman, who were they?

Luke froze. He'd missed something. Turning to Miguel, he said, "What did the man say again?"

"'I'd do anything-"

"No, not that. Before that. What did he say?"

Miguel frowned. "You mean, 'I told you I could kill those monsters. Team Leo, baby!'"

Luke jumped to his feet. "That's it! The man's name is _obviously_ Leo and he's a Latino. We just have to find out his last name and that'll make the whole thing easier," he said fervently.

"I-I don't know any Leos," Miguel muttered. "Why would one appear in my dream?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Luke shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I know that this is important. How are we going to find out who this Leo guy is?"

"Ask our parents?" Miguel suggested.

"Good idea," Luke told him. "He could be a demigod they once knew."

Miguel opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, a conch horn blew. The two rushed off to dinner, offering theories on the mysterious Leo.

* * *

Luke pushed his mashed potatoes around on his plate. He had hardly eaten, too busy thinking about Miguel's dream. It was rare – none of the descendants of gods normally had dreams. It was mostly their children. Secretly, Luke was jealous. He had always wanted to go on a quest, and according to what his parents had told him, dreams usually signified the beginning of a quest.

His mother sat down in the empty seat next to him. "What's up, Luke?" she asked, ruffling his hair.

"Um…" Luke looked over at the Ares table to where Miguel was sitting. He tilted his head as if asking, _is it okay if I tell my mom?_ Miguel nodded. Luke grinned and turned back to his mom. "My friend had a dream," he began.

Immediately, Annabeth's gray eyes drifted over to the Ares table. "Miguel?"

"Yeah," Luke replied. "He had a dream about a couple in a European fishing village. One was this beautiful woman. The other was this Latino guy named Leo. Do you…know him by any chance?"

He looked at his mother, who was gripping her goblet, her knuckles white. "Leo?" she murmured. Her eyes were stormy now. "Leo, you said?"

Luke frowned. "Yeah, I did say Leo. Mom, are you okay?"

Annabeth stood up and strode over to the Poseidon table, where Percy was taking a bite into a blue hamburger. "Percy," she said, gripping his shoulder. She murmured in his ear with a kind of nervous excitement. From the Athena table, Luke watched as his father shooed Cerulean, who was sitting next to him, away. She gave him a look.

Luke silently walked in Cerulean's direction. As he did, he caught a few words from his parents' conversation: _Leo Valdez_ and _alive_. So the man's name was Leo Valdez, and he was supposed to be dead. He motioned for Miguel to join them, barely containing his excitement.

"The man's name is Leo Valdez," he blurted out when Miguel reached them. "He should be dead, but apparently he's alive. We need to ask someone who he is. My mom won't tell me and I have a hunch my dad won't either."

Cerulean raised an eyebrow. "What's this all about?"

Luke told her about Miguel's dream. About the beautiful fishing village and the couple. He told her about how up until now, they were unsure of who the man and woman were. Cerulean took all this in with an expression of awe on her face.

"I have an idea," she said. "C'mon."

Both Miguel and Luke followed her out of the Dining Pavilion. She led them past cabins and people until they finally reached the archery practice field. Near the targets stood Chiron.

"Chiron!" Cerulean called out. "Chiron, we need your help."

Chiron lowered his bow and peered down at the trio. "My dear children," he said. "What can I help you with?"

"Who is Leo Valdez?"

Chiron's expression turned grim. "Leo Valdez was one of the seven half-bloods who traveled with your parents – not yours, Miguel – to Greece. They were trying to stop Gaea, mother earth, from destroying the world and the gods. In the attempt, Leo Valdez died. He swore to the titan daughter, Calypso he would rescue her from her island, Ogygia. After that, I do not know. There was no sign from the gods she had been released from her prison, or that he survived."

Cerulean, Miguel, and Luke stared at Chiron with their jaws dropped. Finally, Luke found his voice. "How-how come we didn't know about this? Why didn't our parents tell us?"

"Maybe they do not wish for you to know. I have never asked." Chiron swished his tail and eyed them. "Is there something that has come up, involving Leo Valdez?"

"Sort of," Luke said. "Miguel dreamed that he was…alive. Alive and far away." He didn't know why he felt the need to add that last part. It just seemed important. As if Leo Valdez wouldn't waste a minute staying in a far off country. He would rush to his friends the instant he could. That was what Luke's parents would do and any other demigod he had met.

"I must go to the Big House," Chiron said. "You three should get back to the Dining Pavilion. It's getting late and you'll want to eat something." He headed off in the direction of the baby-blue house with white trim they called the Big House.

Luke waved his sister and best friend over. "It seems like this Leo guy was important," he whispered. "We might finally get a quest!"

"A quest?" Cerulean wrinkled her nose. "I'd prefer to leave it to our parents. We're too young to go on a quest mom told me."

"She was twelve when _she_ went on _her_ first quest," Luke reasoned. "It went really well. Dad told me they stopped a war."

"Well…" Cerulean suddenly was at a loss for words.

Miguel, who had been silent most of the time, spoke. "They're going to give it to your parents. If what Chiron said is true, they're the ones who know him along with those other four demigods. They're more experienced and saved the world more than once. There is no way we're going on a quest."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that."

* * *

 **Ooh, Luke's getting rebellious. I'm so proud of myself for getting to chapter two. Are you proud of me guys? Better start writing chapter three or I'll completely forget and three months later I'll be saying- *someone shoot me* Thanks for reading (?) and please review.**


	3. Stealing Underwear

**Hola my peeps. This took a long time to update. I'm so ashamed of myself. So, not proud of this chapter at all... I'd love to edit it more, but I thought I took long enough to write this so I forced myself to upload it. For those of you who read the second chapter before I changed it, I'm sorry. The town Miguel dreamed about was supposed to be a secret until a later chapter. I accidentally made a note for myself about which town it was and forgot to delete it when I uploaded the chapter. Sorry! Sorry! Please stop throwing tomatoes at me! I'm just going to let you read before all that good stuff sinks in.**

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Chapter Three

As soon as Percy snapped at Cerulean to leave and pushed his burger away, Thomas knew something was wrong. He had spent enough time with the Jacksons to know that Percy Jackson _never_ stopped eating unless something was wrong. And, of course, he never made Cerulean leave the room. She was his only daughter – his princess. The only way this would ever happen, is if there was a problem.

He watched as Luke walked over to Cerulean, bringing the Ares kid with him. Panic rose inside of him. He suppressed the urge to go over there and tackle the Ares kid for being so close to Cerulean.

"What'cha looking at?" Skye asked him. She grinned. Being a granddaughter of Aphrodite, her smile revealed blinding white teeth. Her eyes sparkled; they were a kaleidoscope of colors, just like her mother's.

Thomas flushed. "Nothing," he said quickly. "I was just wondering why they're all standing."

Skye was still smiling. "Of course you were," she said. "Naturally, their standing invokes your curiosity. I wonder why I haven't wondered about it before." Her smile suddenly turned sly, and Thomas had the sneaking suspicion she knew what was going on.

"That's it," he snapped. "That's all there is to it. Eat your dinner."

Skye snorted into her food but didn't say another word.

When Thomas looked back they were gone. Annabeth and Percy were still whispering to each other, but Luke, Cerulean, and the Ares kid had disappeared. He frantically scanned the Dining Pavilion.

 _She – I mean they – aren't at the Poseidon table, Ares table, Athena table…_

After mentally listing all the tables in his head, Thomas was forced to assume that they left when he wasn't looking. He cursed himself, though he wasn't exactly sure why.

"I'm going to talk to Rachel," Annabeth said a little too loudly, startling Thomas out of his thoughts. Several people turned their heads to watch her. She scowled and walked out of the Dining Pavilion. Percy made to get up and go after her, but before he did, he stuffed another bite of cheeseburger into his mouth.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas noticed his parents whispering to each other. "Pipes, we should go with them," Jason said to Piper.

Piper swallowed a bite of her salad before saying, "I'm afraid of what'll come next." Nevertheless, she ran after Jason to follow Annabeth and Percy. Before long, Frank and Hazel were running up to them, worried expressions on their faces.

A finger tapped Thomas on the shoulder. Thomas only knew one person who was polite enough to tap him on the shoulder rather than yell his name.

"Eric?"

Sure enough, Eric stood behind him. He was a miniature Frank only with Hazel's golden eyes. He wore a purple sweatshirt with the words: _MY DAD SAVED ROME_ emblazoned on it in golden letters. "Hey, man. D'you know what's going on?"

Thomas shook his head. "Nope. Mom and dad are flipping out. So are your parents and Annabeth and Percy." He rested his head in his hands. "I want to know what's going on."

"Same," Eric agreed. "Should we follow them?"

"I dunno, Eric," Thomas said mockingly. "Should we?"

"I think we should, Thomas," Eric retorted.

Silence. Then Thomas grunted in agreement. He pulled his hood onto his head and motioned for Eric to follow him. Together, they ran past the eating campers and into the night.

* * *

"Thomas, where are we going?"

Rolling his eyes, Thomas hid behind a tree. "We're at Rachel's cave," he told Eric. "Annabeth said she was going to come here. I'll bet you she's trying to get a prophecy out of her. Unless there's a prophecy, demigods don't go on quests."

Eric nodded. "True. Very true." He leaned towards the cave's entrance. The curtains were drawn back. The six demigods stood inside. "I can sort of hear them," he said. "I'll need to get a little closer."

A cluster of large boulders stood outside the cave. There was a small gap in between them, just large enough for a small and skinny person to barely fit. Thomas edged forward. "I'll go. You won't be able to fit in that space. No offense."

"How could I take offense? You literally just called me too fat."

Thomas squeezed in between the rocks. "Shut up, I think I can hear them."

From what Thomas could gather, his own father was begging Rachel to tell them what had become of some guy named Leo. "Please, Rachel!" Jason pleaded. "Just come up with one itty bitty prophecy."

Rachel Dare exhaled. "We both know that's not how it works Jason." The echoing steps on the cave's floor made it sound as if she were pacing. " _I_ don't come up with the prophecies. The spirit of Delphi does."

This time it was Hazel who spoke. "But what about Leo? Miguel had a dream about him. We need to look for this village in Europe!"

"Maybe you just aren't meant to find him," Rachel replied. "That's why I haven't given you a prophecy."

Annabeth scoffed. "Come _on_. Us? Not part of a quest rescuing Leo? There is no way that's true."

"She has a point," Percy said. "We're the ones who were closest to Leo before...well… We'll be able to find him."

Thomas peered through a space in between two rocks. He could see without being seen. Just by glancing at the scene, he could tell the six demigods looked very angry. Rachel seemed to be calming them down. As he shifted a little to get more comfortable, his head suddenly became visible in the dim evening light. For a moment he thought Rachel had spotted him. Her eyes widened and she said, "You gu-"

That's as far as she could get. Her eyes had gone misty and her body went rigid. She opened her mouth and began to speak.

" _The seven spawn of the heroes  
shall travel east  
He is in the mountains,  
who they seek  
And after a last futile try,  
a once lifeless dragon will fly._"

Thomas felt a chill travel down his spine. For the first time in his life he had witnessed a prophecy. He had absolutely no idea what it meant, of course, but he thought he remembered the gist.

"What the hell does _that_ mean?" Percy murmured. "Who are _the seven spawn of the heroes_?" He grabbed Rachel by the shoulders to steady her.

"That's for Rachel to know, and us to find out," Annabeth said seriously. She instinctively reached for her dagger and gripped the hilt. "We'd better get back," she told her friends. "Our kids will wonder where we've gone."

Frank nodded. "She's right. I just hope I can get back before Eric follows me or something. I don't want our kids to hear about this before we've figured it out."

"Too late," Thomas whispered to himself. Quickly, he extracted himself from behind the rocks and grabbed Eric's shoulder.

"Ow!" Eric yelped. "I've got a bruise there."

"Sorry, man," Thomas apologized. "But you gotta hear this. There's a prophecy."

Eric's eyes lit up. "So there is a quest!" He punched the air. "Awesome! Are our parents part of it?"

"Hard to say," Thomas murmured. "Rachel didn't seem too sure they were either. Maybe it's someone else…" His voice trailed off.

After a pause, Eric spoke. "So, do you remember any of it?"

"Yeah, listen to this. _The seven spawn of the heroes shall travel east. He is in the mountains who they seek. And after a last futile try, a once lifeless dragon will fly._ "

"Hey you memorized that pretty good!" Eric grinned and clapped Thomas on the back. "We should be getting back before they do." He gestured to the six demigods still talking in the cave. "I don't want to find out what happens when my dad realizes we _did_ follow him. By the way can you write that prophecy down for me?"

"Sure, why not?"

The pair ran off, past the glare of the torchlight so that they wouldn't be spotted in the darkness. They took care to walk ahead of their parents, but not too fast. If they ran, they'd make way too much noise and would most likely be heard.

When they had almost made it to camp, Eric tapped Thomas on the shoulder. "Thomas?"

"Not now, Eric. We have to be quiet."

"But Thomas – "

"Eric, shut up!"

Eric grabbed his wrist. "Thomas, I think they hear us."

Thomas heard the rustling sounds of bushes and tree branches. He tensed and readied himself to run. But before he could, someone grabbed him from behind by his hood.

"Thomas," said a familiar voice. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hi, dad!" Thomas said brightly. He smiled and waved weakly. "We're…uh, we're just walking. In between the trees. At night. It's the new...fad. All the kids are doing it these days."

"Yeah, sure."

"Eric?" The rest of the demigods had come through the trees now. Hazel was staring at her son, a confused expression on her face. "You…what? Why are you wandering around at night?"

Thomas shook his head at Eric. He didn't think their parents should know that they were following them.

He coughed loudly and shot a glance at Eric, who didn't seem to be watching him. The kid kept looking at Cabin Ten, as if he could somehow make a break for it. "Eric," he hissed under his breath.

Jason still hadn't let go of him. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Thomas said quickly.

"Eric?" Hazel had her hands on her hips. "Tell me. _Now_."

Eric gave her a nervous smile. "Mom, do I have to? In front of everyone?"

"Why not?" Hazel asked him. "Here and now."

"But…it's embarrassing."

This time Frank interjected. "Embarrassing, how? I've been at this a long time, kiddo. I _think_ I know a little bit about embarrassment."

"Fine." Eric took a deep breath, not noticing Thomas, whose eyes bulged. "We were…we were…" he seemed unable to get the sentence out. "We were on a panty raid."

Thomas froze.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose and repeated, "A panty raid. You…a panty raid?"

"Yeah," Thomas lied. "Cabin ten was _right there_ , and we decided to…go through their drawers and steal their…stuff."

Percy chuckled. "A panty raid, huh? Can I – ow!"

Annabeth elbowed him in the arm.

"Just a joke sweetheart," he said, clearing his throat. "Aren't you boys a little too young for a panty raid?"

"Uh…"

Piper looked at her son, directly in his eyes. "Let me never hear again," she said, an edge in her voice, "that you were raiding girls' drawers. Am I clear?"

Thomas coughed. "Yes, mom."

"Good. You're both free to go. Jason, you're choking him, let go of his sweater!"

Jason let go and Thomas ran over to Eric's side. They walked back to the Dining Pavilion, far enough from their parents, so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"That was great!" Thomas whispered. He felt himself grin from ear to ear. " _You_ were great. Remind me to always have you around in a crisis. How'd you come up with that so fast?"

"It's um…" Eric turned bright red. "Something Ross and I were considering in New Rome." Ross was their other best friend back in New Rome. He was a son of Mercury. "We didn't think you'd approve since it was your sisters' drawers that we were going to raid."

"Well I approve now…my sisters'?"

Eric didn't say anything.

Thomas sighed. He punched Eric in the arm and grinned. "Well, you know, as long as we're not raiding my sisters' drawers, I'd be happy to come with you and Ross. Sneaking into someone's house…stealing girls' underwear…doing who knows what with it – you know what? Let's never speak of this again."

"Yeah," Eric agreed. "In retrospect, this seems like a terrible idea. But it was Ross' idea. So, you know."

"Ah, that makes sense."

* * *

 **Annnnd I am already anticipating reactions to the panty raid thing. I know, it was stupid and I should have come up with something cleverer but I was watching Friends and they mentioned it and the idea was coming onto the keyboard before I even realized what happened. Please review so I can write better. See you whenever I write the next chapter!**


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